Mum claims toddler's juice was 'poisoned with nail polish remover'
A mum claims her toddler’s juice has been poisoned with nail polish remover after having to rush her to hospital.
One-year-old Hunter Easterbrook, from Swindon, west of London, was rushed to hospital earlier this year after her dad Karl Easterbrook gave her a sip of Poundstrecter’s Cool Crush blackcurrant juice.
Her mum, Chloe-Louise Durrant, said she went into a panic after hearing from Hunter’s dad saying Hunter “had drunk something she shouldn’t have”.
"I went into a panic, rushing to meet them, because we had no idea what she'd drunk,” Ms Durrant said.
"All we knew, is that she'd drunk the first bottle fine, but the second, she kept spitting out and this vile smell was coming from it.
"I looked at the liquid, which was almost clear, and it smelt like it does when you walk into a nail bar.”
Hunter was rushed to the emergency room but doctors were unsure how to treat her as they couldn’t determine exactly what the little girl had consumed.
“Hunter seemed a little more whiny than usual and she kept making like gag noises for a while,” Ms Durrant said.
"But all we could do was have her kept under observation for six hours and ensure she kept drinking fluids.”
Hunter’s parents believe it was the juice which was the cause.
Ms Durrant added her daughter won’t drink out of bottles and will now only drink from cups.
Hunter’s dad went back to Poundstretcher, which is a chain of discount stores, to complain to the manager.
He called for the juice to be taken off shelves but is relieved his little girl is OK.
"I'm just grateful Hunter is at an age where she knows to spit something out if it's not right,” Mr Easterbrook said.
The little girl’s mum called it “a lucky escape”.
Poundstretcher said in a statement it has removed the juices from its shelves and has issued an apology to Hunter’s family.
“We have been in contact with them through our customer services department and have co-operated with them in providing further assistance and information,” it said.
“Upon being informed of the incident, we immediately recalled both the blackcurrant and orange variants from all our stores.
“The supplier has also been made aware of the incident and has been advised to investigate further with the family. We are currently awaiting a response from the manufacturer as to the cause and the steps taken to ensure it doesn’t happen again.”
Poundstretcher added staff have been re-trained on “what they should do if a similar incident should arise in the future”.
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter, download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play and stay up to date with the latest news with Yahoo’s daily newsletter. Sign up here.
